The Best 3 Ways To Make Sure Your Sausage Is Never Undercooked

Have you ever asked yourself, “Did I just give myself food poisoning by eating undercooked sausage”? There is no way to pinpoint the food poisoning came from undercooked sausage unless that’s the only thing you ate in days.

As most cases of food poisoning, there is a delay from when you eat the tainted food to your body reacting. Just because you ate undercooked sausage, does not mean you’ll experience food poisoning symptoms within the first hour. It can take days to manifest.

Sausage is one of those tricky meats that need to be watched carefully when preparing. There is a high tendency, the sausage you prepare will be undercooked. Although undercooked sausage doesn’t mean you’re going to get food poisoning, it can make your chances higher.

Many years ago, before I knew how to properly cook sausage, I gave my family member a horrible bout of food poisoning from the sausage dish I made. How was I supposed to know the sausage I made was undercooked? It looked done from the outside.

That’s the thing about sausage. It may look done from the outside, but unless you truly test its internal temperature you’ll never know if it’s fully cooked or under-cooked.

Take The Guesswork Out Of Cooking Meat!

Every kitchen should have an instant-read meat thermometer. For a home cook, they're an indispensable tool. When you're cooking meat, doneness is critical. This meat temperature guide will ensure you'll cook your meat to the correct temperature every time!

What exactly is sausage comprised of?

Most times sausage is made from a combination of pork, poultry, lamb, beef, and spices. Most sausage is not made from the best parts of the pig, sheep, chicken, turkey, or cow. They usually use the gross parts, also known as “by-products”, that would typically end up in dog food. You know, the ones no one wants to eat such as blood, guts, organs, lips, beaks, snouts, and butts.

After all the meat (if you can call it that), dust from the floor and whatever other additives they add to its ground up, then stuffed into a synthetic casing – which can contain plastic or animal intestines.

I know, gross, right? How can something so delicious be so gross?

Can you get sick from eating undercooked sausage?

Yes, you can get severely sick by eating undercooked sausage, but then again it depends on what type of sausage you’re eating.

If you’re eating ready-to-eat sausages such as kielbasa, hot dogs, salami, bologna, those awesome pickled sausages you buy from Costco, or any other smoked sausage, you shouldn’t have to worry about it. Now if the ready-to-eat sausage is out of date, then you may get sick from it.

Even though the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Serviceor your State Health and Agriculture Department inspect all sausages that are processed in the United States. They’re not magicians or psychics and they can’t see if the sausage contains a harmful bacteria such as Trichinosis.

Can you see them looking through every little piece of sausage for a worm? Sorry, but it’s not gonna happen, unfortunately.

To play it safe if you open up a pack of Johnsonville sausage or any other brand of sausage (Johnsonville is my favorite), don’t start eating them straight from the package. Aside from the fact, that’s really gross, it can make you really, really, sick.

Here’s a science tip for you.

The contaminated meat is infected with the larvae of a parasitic worm called Trichinella spiralis.

During the digestion process we breakdown the hard outer shell of the larvae, which sets the worms free to have a house party in your body. They usually attach themselves to your muscles. So basically, those party crashers are having a free-for-all in your body.

How long does it take to get sick from eating undercooked sausage?

Everyone’s body is different, and everyone’s immune system is not the same. But the majority of people who are infected with Trichinosis, the symptoms appear within the same day to 28 days. So the thing is, if it hits you 15 days later, you’re never going to know if it was the undercooked sausage or not.

You may have just thought it was the meatloaf you left sitting out on the counter for 4 hours to cool.

What are some of the symptoms of eating undercooked sausage?

Nausea

Diarrhea

Severe abdominal pain

Fever & Chills

Fatigue

Headaches

Muscle soreness

Eye Swelling

Take The Guesswork Out Of Cooking Meat!

Every kitchen should have an instant-read meat thermometer. For a home cook, they're an indispensable tool. When you're cooking meat, doneness is critical. This meat temperature guide will ensure you'll cook your meat to the correct temperature every time!

What happens if I accidentally serve my family undercooked sausage?

Just because your sausage is undercooked, it does not mean you will get food poisoning. You do stand a higher risk of it, but unless the pork wasn’t contaminated at the slaughterhouse or during the grinding process, there’s a chance you’re not gonna get sick from it. But like everything in life, there are no guarantees.

Here’s the thing though. How do you know if there was cross-contamination at the packaging plant? How do you know if the meat fell on the floor before it was ground up?

You just don’t know.

When your healths involved, it’s always better to be safe than sorry, but if you’re the risk-taking type of gal, then go for it! Just don’t come back to me crying, cause all I’m gonna is, “I told you so”!

How to cook sausage on the grill

Place on grill and cook on high heat for 10 minutes. This will make them golden brown.

Reduce the heat to low and place them away from the direct heat for 3 to 5 minutes. If your barbeque has a top shelf, you can put them on there for the last 3 to 5 minutes.

In conclusion

Don’t chance to make yourself or your family sick. I didn’t mean to give my ex-husband food poisoning, but it happened.

I understand, sometimes you’re in a rush between getting the kids to and from afterschool activities, helping with homework, while preparing to get dinner ready. Sometimes, you’re not paying attention to the exact time you started cooking something.

That’s mom-life for you. It’s the constant struggle of doing it all; yet, sometimes in our rush things fall through the cracks, like checking the internal temperature of your sausage to ensure it’s thoroughly cooked. Just poking it alone isn’t going to let you know it’s fully cooked.

Your turn

I really would love to know how you ensure your sausage is cooked before serving it to your family? Please share in a comment below.

Until we meet again,

Stacey

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About stacey

Hi There! I'm Stacey. I'm so happy you stopped by. The purpose of Food Safety Superhero is to help you keep a safe, happy and healthy kitchen. The kitchen is the heart of every household and it's so important to keep our family healthy & safe at all times. Since the kitchen is the most pivotal locations in our homes, it's the one we must ensure is clean and safe. Food Safety Superhero provides food safety, kitchen safety, kitchen cleaning, and kitchen organizing tips, as well as, food storage solutions. At times, my home may be in disarray, but my kitchen is my sanctuary. It’s the one place I know will never be cluttered and always cleaned to my specifications. I love my kitchen. Can you say the same thing about yours? If not, together we can make your kitchen one of your most favorite rooms in your home.

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I’m pretty much obsessed with having a clean and safe kitchen. A safe kitchen is not just about kitchen safety. It encompasses how we store and prepare the food our family eats, to how we prevent germs from turning our kitchen into their after-hours dance club.

You can be absolutely sure if it revolves around the kitchen, it will be discussed. I love my kitchen. Can you say the same thing about yours? If not, together we can make your kitchen one of your most favorite rooms in your home. READ MORE!

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​Get a free preview of the Ultimate Kitchen Resource Guide. This sneak peek offers 5 of the best kithen resources you'll need right at your fingertips ANDa super special discount offer!